Tuesday night’s win against the Heat was much less dramatic or significant than it could have been if the Heat’s stars were on the court. But it was significant in another way: Carmelo Anthony’s 50-point effort might mean that he is about to hit his stride.

Tuesday’s game could be a preview of a potential first-round series in the Eastern Conference playoffs. New York (42-26) currently occupies the third spot while Boston (36-33) is 6 1/2 games behind, but has lost four games in a row.

For all the talk about Anthony, if the Knicks don’t get consistent performances out of a good percentage of their second-tier players, they aren’t going to win. It doesn’t have to be every guy every night, but they need a few to play well every night.